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The purposes of this paper are to solve the low-efficiency problem caused by large search space in global localization and develop an efficient global localization method requiring only one 2D-LiDAR scan to match against the prior map for indoor mobile robots.

This paper solves the global localization problem using phase correlation as the underlying registration method. To obtain accurate rotation parameter, this paper exhaustively pre-rotates the prior map by a certain angle stride in advance. Then the input scan is matched against the pre-rotated maps one by one using phase correlation to determine translation parameters, and this paper constructs an orientation histogram by the correlation coefficients. The map rotation angle and corresponding translation parameters of the maximal peak value in the orientation histogram constitute the global pose. This paper applies a divide-and-conquer method to reduce the time consumption of single phase correlation and determines promising angle ranges where the maximal peak value may appear based on the periodicity of 90º in the orientation histogram with the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to reduce execution times of phase correlation.

Both simulated and real experimental results reveal that the proposed method achieves a high enough success rate and efficient (processing time in a second) global localization.

The proposed method constructs an orientation histogram to improve the global localization success rate and applies a divide-and-conquer method with SNR to improve efficiency, which will benefit the indoor mobile robots equipped with 2D-LiDAR.

The working day has always comprised frequent interruptions. Yet the frequency and intensity of these disruptions appear to be on the rise as a result of advancing technology, increasing interdependent work processes, and changing work environments (e.g., open-plan offices). Interestingly, there have only been a handful of studies on workplace interruptions, and the primary focus among researchers has been on the effects of interruptions on task completion. In this chapter, we argue that interruptions at work can be conceptualized as emotion-inducing events. We draw on research across different disciplines to develop a framework to show how the work-enhancing or work-hindering effects of different types of interruptions are, in part, determined by the employees' capability to manage (regulate) their emotional responses.

We initially review the literature regarding workplace interruptions. We then develop a framework for understanding the different types of interruptions experienced by individuals at work and then use this framework to develop a model linking interruptions to emotion regulation drawing on Affective Events Theory (Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996). In essence, we advance our understanding of work interruptions by considering these as events that are able to produce positive or negative affective reactions that may enhance or hinder work performance.

The framework presented in this chapter increases understanding of the different types of workplace interruptions and shows how emotion regulation impacts subsequent work-related outcomes. This chapter provides valuable insights into the nature of work interruptions to identify both positive and negative aspects of work interruptions to establish two different domains of work interruptions that may improve (work-enhancing interruptions) or thwart (work-hindering interruptions) work-related outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Antenna miniaturization, multiband operation and wider operational bandwidth are vital to achieve optimal design for modern wireless communication devices. Using fractal geometries is recognized as one of the most promising solutions to attain these characteristics. The purpose of this paper is to present a unique structure of patch antenna using hybrid fractal technique to enhance the performance characteristics for various wireless applications and to achieve better miniaturization.

In this paper, the authors propose a novel hybrid fractal antenna by combining Koch and Minkowski (K-M) fractal geometries. A microstrip patch antenna (MPA) operating at 1.8 GHz is incorporated with a novel K-M hybrid fractal geometry. The proposed fractal antenna is designed and simulated in CST Microwave studio and compared with existing Koch fractal geometry. The prototype for the third iteration of the K-M fractal antenna is then fabricated on FR-4 substrate and tested through vector network analyzer for operating band/voltage standing wave ratio.

The third iteration of the proposed K-M fractal geometry results in achieving a 20% size reduction as compared to an ordinary MPA for the same resonant frequency with impedance bandwidth of 16.25 MHz and a directional gain of 6.48 dB, respectively. The operating frequency of MPA also lowers down to 1.44 GHz.

Further testing for the radiation patterns in an anechoic chamber shows good agreement to those of simulated results.

This paper aims to examine how banks’ accounting disclosure policies affect information content in stock prices and stock crash risk.

This paper uses 1996-2013 as the sample period. The final sample includes 10,045 observations in 37 countries. This paper uses stock return synchronicity to measure information content in stock prices. This study uses the frequency difference between extremely negative and positive stock returns to measure stock crash risk. To measure the level of bank accounting disclosure, this research follows Nier and Baumann (2006) to construct an aggregate disclosure index based on inclusions and omissions of a series of items in a bank’s annual accounting reports.

This paper finds that banks’ stocks have lower stock return synchronicity and fewer extremely negative returns if banks have higher levels of financial statement disclosure. These results suggest that banks’ stocks have higher information content and lower crash risk if banks’ information environment is more transparent.

Overall, this paper provides new insight about how to increase banks’ transparency and the safety of the banking industry, which is beneficial to economic growth. To increase banks’ transparency and reduce the possibility of extremely negative stock returns, one way to regulate banks is to increase their accounting disclosure. In addition, the extant literature (Chen et al., 2006, Durnev et al., 2003, 2004; Wurgler, 2000) demonstrates that firms with lower stock return synchronicity have more transparent information environments and higher investment efficiency. Thus, this paper finds that higher levels of bank accounting disclosure are associated with lower stock return synchronicity, which further reduces banks’ opacity and increases banks’ investment efficiency. Finally, compared to business firms, stock crash risk has much direr consequences because one bank’s stock crash will affect overall financial stability. Thus, it is important for authorities to know the effects of accounting disclosure on bank stock crash risk.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between corporate governance mechanism and firm value of the listed companies in China. Does the better corporate governance lead to the higher firm value? Or does the higher firm value make it easy to choose a better governance mechanism? Or they affect each other? In other words, this paper tries to answer whether the corporate governance mechanism is only decided by institutional arrangement, or by market choice according to firm value or performance or by the interaction of institutional arrangement and market choice? It tries to answer whether institutional arrangement maximizes the firm value, or an invisible hand pushes them to arrive at its maximum.

This paper establishes an analytic framework of simultaneous equations based on causality, which includes five endogenous variables: ownership of larger shareholders, managerial ownership, director compensation, debt financing and firm value. It adopts 1,644 data samples from 274 Chinese listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange during 2007- 2012 after the non-tradable shares reform. Ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation of single equation, 2SLS and 3SLS estimation of simultaneous equations are respectively done to show the differences of these three kinds of estimations.

The empirical results show that differences exist among OLS, 2SLS and 3SLS estimation. Finally, 3SLS estimation should be adopted because the OLS and 2SLS estimation are biased. There are endogenous relationships between corporate governance mechanism and firm value. Through the 3SLS estimation, it is found that first, ownership concentration and firm value affect each other positively. Second, managerial ownership and firm value affect each other positively; third, director compensation and firm value affect each other negatively, while director compensation and firm performance affect each other positively. Finally, debt financing level and firm value are negatively related to each other.

It means that ownership of large shareholders, managerial ownership, director compensation and debt financing in the Chinese listed companies are found to have a root in the interaction between institutional arrangement and market choice. It is also found that adverse selection occurs when creditors loan to the listed companies. Managerial compensation is positively related to accounting profit, but it is negatively related to firm value because managers increase profit due by earning management. This could only increase the accounting profits and obtain huge cash compensation, but not increase firm value and even harm the interests of shareholders.

This paper not only shows the difference between OLS and 2SLS estimation but also compares the estimation of 2SLS and 3SLS in terms of empirical methods. It gives answers to the following questions: whether the relationship is one-way causality or bilateral causality between ownership concentration, managerial ownership, director compensation and firm value; whether governance mechanism affects firm value by institutional arrangement, or market drives both of them to strike a balance by an invisible hand. In other words, does it make them arrive at equilibrium through the competitive selection process when shareholders, directors, managers and creditors attempt to maximize themselves of their interests?

Global climate change threatens world food security. This research raises the issues of priority agricultural development, increasing agricultural production, and expanding the insurance coverage of the industry. The authors propose to implement insurance activities further to prevent the effects of climate change and economic support in the emphasizеd advancеment of food production in agriculture. The research relies on direct comparative analysis, statistical and economic analysis, and monographic observational data. To conduct deep research, the authors apply analysis and synthesis. The authors also use the questionnaire methods across the country and organization, monographic research, and other methods. Furthermore, the authors used international normative documents, research of scientists in scientific periodicals, and data from official websites. The authors conclude that to protect agricultural insurance and ensure the continuous development of agriculture, it is advisable to transition from administrative methods to the following recommendations for insurance against various financial and natural losses that may arise in agriculture due to the vagaries of nature. It is also recommended to introduce a mechanism of state subsidies to compensate for the costs and improve the efficiency of insurance agents in the insurance activities of agricultural enterprises.

Internet + and Electronic Business in China is a comprehensive resource that provides insight and analysis into E-commerce in China and how it has revolutionized and continues to revolutionize business and society. Split into four distinct sections, the book first lays out the theoretical foundations and fundamental concepts of E-Business before moving on to look at internet+ innovation models and their applications in different industries such as agriculture, finance and commerce. The book then provides a comprehensive analysis of E-business platforms and their applications in China before finishing with four comprehensive case studies of major E-business projects, providing readers with successful examples of implementing E-Business entrepreneurship projects.

Internet + and Electronic Business in China is a comprehensive resource that provides insights and analysis into how E-commerce has revolutionized and continues to revolutionize business and society in China.

The purpose of this study is to examine the spatial fluctuation spillover effect of green total factor productivity (GTFP) under the influence of Internet development.

Using panel data from 283 cities in China for the period 2003–2016, this paper explores the spatial fluctuation spillover effect of internet development on GTFP by applying the spatial autoregressive with autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity model (SARspARCH).

The results of Moran's I test of the residual term and the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) value indicate that the GTFP has a spatial fluctuation spillover effect, and the estimated results of the SARspARCH model are more accurate than the spatial autoregressive (SAR) model and the spatial autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (spARCH) model. Specifically, the internet development had a positive spatial fluctuation spillover effect on GTFP in 2003, 2011, 2012 and 2014, and the volatility spillover effect weakens the positive spillover effect of internet development on GTFP. Moreover, Internet development has a significant positive spatial fluctuation spillover effect on GTFP averagely in eastern China and internet-based cities.

The results of this study provide digital solutions for policymakers in improving the level of GTFP in China, with more emphasis on regional synergistic governance to ensure growth.

This paper expands the research ideas for spatial econometric models and provides a more valuable reference for China to achieve green development.

The finite element method (FEM) is used to calculate the two-dimensional anti-plane dynamic response of structure embedded in D’Alembert viscoelastic multilayered soil on the rigid bedrock. This paper aims to research a time-domain absorbing boundary condition (ABC), which should be imposed on the truncation boundary of the finite domain to represent the dynamic interaction between the truncated infinite domain and the finite domain.

A high-order ABC for scalar wave propagation in the D’Alembert viscoelastic multilayered media is proposed. A new operator separation method and the mode reduction are adopted to construct the time-domain ABC.

The derivation of the ABC is accurate for the single layer but less accurate for the multilayer. To achieve high accuracy, therefore, the distance from the truncation boundary to the region of interest can be zero for the single layer but need to be about 0.5 times of the total layer height of the infinite domain for the multilayer. Both single-layered and multilayered numerical examples verify that the accuracy of the ABC is almost the same for both cases of only using the modal number excited by dynamic load and using the full modal number of infinite domain. Using the ABC with reduced modes can not only reduce the computation cost but also be more friendly to the stability. Numerical examples demonstrate the superior properties of the proposed ABC with stability, high accuracy and remarkable coupling with the FEM.

A high-order time-domain ABC for scalar wave propagation in the D’Alembert viscoelastic multilayered media is proposed. The proposed ABC is suitable for both linear elastic and D’Alembert viscoelastic media, and it can be coupled seamlessly with the FEM. A new operator separation method combining mode reduction is presented with better stability than the existing methods.